Eric Mitcheltree, Father

I get asked all the time, “How do you do it, how do you deal with this horrible situation?” My reply is always the same, “as a parent, is there anything you wouldn’t do for your child?”

As a Dad, you are supposed to be the protector, the ‘fixer’ and the rock for your family. When cancer threatens your child’s life, you lose total control. You cannot protect, you cannot fix, and the rock is now in a million pieces. Even today, as my son gets healthier and healthier, I cannot look back on those first few days, after diagnosis, without breaking down.

No family should have to hear the words “your child has cancer.” No family should have to deal with that level of emotion and fear.

I have now taken control of the situation and I can help fix things, and that rock is slowly being pieced back together because I chose to fight back the best way I know how – by supporting research. I am the chairperson for my local CureSearch Walk and I fight every single day by raising the funds necessary to find a cure.